Rohan the Barbarian

Next week I'm off to Amsterdam, Belgium and France with Dr. Ed. It seems like every cycling tour brings a new twist and my next adventure is no exception. Unlike my prior three tours, this time we are flying in to and out of different airoports so I can't use my hardshell bike box. Instead, I need to pack my bike in disposable cardboard box.

Yesterday, I went to my local bike shop to pickup a box. They will give you a cardboard bike box for free since they are just going to throw them out anyway (these are the boxes used to ship new bicycles to the store). But they charge you $65 to pack the bike in it. I decided I'm going to pack it myself since I have the time and the mechanical knowlege. But I really have no clue on the logistics.

Enter Rohan. He's the head mechanic at the shop. Plain and simple, I love the guy. He's a nice, calm dude who always goes the extra mile for you. I'm not sure of his nationality but he's likely West African or Hatian. When I entered the service area he gave me the calm, smooth and slow "is everything allright with you, Jeff?". It's a great open ended question that can really elicit any response. When I told him I needed to pack my bike in a cardboard box he gave me the simple steps as well as some zip ties and a piece to protect the front fork:

1) gear up to the largest cog on the cassette to protect the rear derailer
2) remove the pedals
2) remove the saddle/seatpost
3) remove the front wheel
4) zip tie the drive side crank arm to the chainstay to keep the crankset locked at parallel
5) remove the handlebars and stem
6) set the front wheel on the non-driveside of the frame locked into the crank arm (takes a little practice once you get it, it's easy)
7) set bike into the box

I just did a dry run and it fits pretty well. I picked up some pipe insulation at Home Depot for $5 that I'm going to use to protect the frame. If I can get motivated I'm going to finish the job today so I just have the soft packing left for next Wednesday.